Baton Rouge, La.  – An early hole was too much for the Wildcats to overcome as they fell, 15-0 to LSU, Sunday in Baton Rouge.
 
How It Happened

LSU (12-3, 0-0 SEC) opened the scoring in game three with a string of two-out hits in the first inning capped off by a homer that put the Wildcats (5-10, 0-0 SWAC) in a 5-0 hole early.
 
The Tigers added two more in the second to chase Hector Vazquez early. Joán Gonzalez came in in relief. Through two full, the Tigers led, 10-0.
 
The Tigers added a solo shot in the third, a three-run homer in the fifth, and an RBI double in the sixth on the way to the 15-0 win
 
The Wildcats were held hitless until the top of the fifth when Jeremy Garcia sent a single up the middle. Franki Febles and Boris Peña also recorded hits for B-CU in the game.
 
Vazquez took the loss on the afternoon. Gonzalez pitched three innings, allowed six hits and three earned runs while walking none and striking out two. Brian Piña chipped in 1.2 innings, allowing one hit and one earned run with no walks and four strikeouts.
 
Alec Mendez made his 2022 season debut – he was sidelined in 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. He pitched a clean seventh with one strikeout.
 
Brenton Fisher took the eighth, allowing no hits and striking out one.
 
"The experience we gained this weekend is huge," Wildcats head coach Jonathan Hernandez said after the game. "This is one of the best teams and best offenses in the country – they did what they had to do. This experience is going to pay dividends down the road."
 
With this weekend's series in the rearview, Hernandez reflected on the state of his team.
 
"We have to get better – we will be better," Hernandez said. "My only hope for this trip was that we made Bethune-Cookman proud and we represented SWAC baseball – this is a bona fide conference. Hopefully Friday and Saturday showed that there's really good baseball in our conference that is able to compete with the big guys."
 
A nationally-ranked opponent is a tall task for any program – Hernandez is not the type to back down from that challenge.
 
"When we put this schedule together, it was all about putting ourselves in a position to challenge our players, challenge our coaching staff, and challenge our university," Hernandez said. "We want people to understand that there is good baseball at Bethune-Cookman – we're proud of the way our guys competed this weekend."
 
Notes

• The Wildcats did not commit an error in the series.
• The B-CU pitching staff combined to strike out 10 Tigers in the game – B-CU batters struck out nine times.

Up Next
The Wildcats will return to the Sunshine State for one final tune-up before SWAC play begins next weekend, taking on the Seminoles of FSU, Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Tallahassee
 
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--#HailWildcats--